"Gah! This is hard work..!" You whimpered, flopping on the porch steps to rest your aching feet and back. "I didn't think we'd clean the whole house! Maybe the living room and kitchen, but the upstairs too..?" Wiping sweat from your forehead, you took a moment to enjoy the cool late evening air. "Thank god we're almost done- Ouch!" Your wailing was interrupted by a firm smack on the top of your head― Glancing over your shoulder, you found Levi standing behind you, holding the mop threateningly high like he was about to give another whack any second.
"We aren't done in any time soon if you keep slacking off." He gave you an annoyed glare as he pulled the scarf off from his face, clicking his tongue as he continued. "Tch… I wouldn't normally accept sloppy work like this, but we only have so much time. Believe me, if you were one of my regiment brats, you'd be scrubbing that floor with your toothbrush until the sunrise."
"Ugh…" You believed him, for sure. "I'm so happy I'm not one of them… Uargh!"
"Less talk, more work." Levi commanded after another mop whack onto your head. "Didn't they teach you any discipline in the MP? Hmph, figures…" He sighed in an unimpressed tone, proceeding on poking your ribs with the mop handle.
"H-hey..! Stop that!" You laughed, trying to brush the stick away from you. "Seriously..! It tickles, damn it!" Levi did stop what he was doing, but the way he looked at you caught your attention― He stared at you with a somewhat flustered look on his face, as if he didn't know how to react. When he snapped out of it and realized you were staring straight back at him, Levi quickly broke the eye contact, pulling the scarf back onto his face as he headed back inside without another word. "He is indeed a strange one―" You couldn't help but to smile to yourself. "Not in a bad way, though..!" Although you hadn't admitted it to him― or even to yourself― for the last few days you had been emotionally in a really bad place. Today was something that felt like the first good day in a long time, and it was all thanks to him. Struggling back up and onto your feet, you quickly followed him inside. An old, murky house had transformed into a warm, cozy place you could maybe one day truly call a home. Only a few years ago even the thought of stepping a foot inside that house filled you with dread, but now you were there; The healing process had finally begun. Quietly smiling to yourself, you were about to get back to work when a low growl made you halt― It took a moment for you to realize that the sound was actually nothing else but your stomach rumbling. It was no wonder, though: You had barely eaten anything the whole day! If chugging down half a bottle of wine for breakfast didn't count, that is.
"Hey, shouldn't we have a lunch break?" You called for Levi who was finishing cleaning up the upstairs. "Or… it's a bit late for lunch, so more like a dinner or supper break, I guess…" It was already growing dusky outside, meaning you were quite a few hours past the lunch time. You only heard some annoyed grumbles from the upstairs, most probably Levi trying to tell you what he thought about your newest excuse to have a break from working― Even he didn't say anything, you'd guess he had to be starving as well after hours of physical labour. Your mind made up, you headed to kitchen. "Let's see… A couple of tomatoes, a zucchini... onions and potatoes…" You listed what you had left in your pantry. "That's not much, but I think there was some thyme and some other herbs growing in the backyard? A veggie casserole it is, then." You nodded determinedly, then turning your attention to Levi who had joined you. "You'll stay for the dinner, right?" Feeding him was the least you could do to thank him― And to be honest, having someone to keep you company was something you desperately needed at the moment.
"I… well…" Surprised by the invite, Levi took a moment to weigh his options. "No need to bother yourself because of me, I'll just… um…" He scratched the back of his head in a nervous manner, furrowing his brow as he tried to come up with an excuse to turn down the offer.
"What? No, it's no problem―" You looked at him confused. "You can make casserole from pretty much anything, just a little bit of chopping, throw all the stuff into the pan and pan into the oven. No biggie. Hey, wait a second..!" You scowled at him, realizing the true nature of the situation when Levi's expression turned even more sheepish as you kept talking. "You just don't believe I can cook?!"
"What? No!" The look of shock you saw on his face for a fracture of a second told you the truth behind his words. "Why would I think that? Ridiculous. I just… um…" Stumbling with his own words again, Levi gave you another cautious, demure look before turning his gaze away.
"For some reason I never imagined you to be such a poor liar." You blinked slowly as you stared at him in disbelief. "It's kind of intriguing, actually. But enough about that!" Back on the business, you began collecting the ingredients from the pantry as you spoke. "Let's say you have nothing to worry, then; And no reason to refuse, either." You added, giving him a glare over your shoulder before turning your attention back to cooking preparations. "You'll eat and you'll enjoy it, damn it..!" You muttered under your breath as you took out the cutting board and a knife. Hearing Levi quietly scuffle back to upstairs, you began preparing the ingredients― It had been quite a while since you had properly cooked anything by yourself, but before joining the military it had been a daily task for you to help your mother with preparing dinner. Now those days felt so very distant to you, almost like watching the memories of another person. The knife had halted midway of cutting the zucchini when you found yourself staring blankly into the distance, your mind constantly wandering back to that time. "For fuck's sake, just get a hold of yourself..!" You sighed and shook your head, turning your focus back to cooking again. "I can't even prepare dinner without some damn flashbacks and anxiety attacks? This is getting ridiculous..! I am a living human being, I gotta eat, damn it!" Proceeding on chopping the vegetables in an unnecessary furious manner, you tried to get your mind elsewhere.